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Take a bow, SAA!

July 9, 2018

Bad-mouthing South African Airways (SAA) has virtually become a national pastime – sometimes for very good reason. But I just had a GREAT experience on SAA and so, in fairness to our national airline, I decided to share it. After all, we love to complain but then we forget about compliments and commendations, don’t we?

I flew from Munich to Johannesburg in Business Class … and it was great. I’ve been lucky enough to have flown Business Class many times in my life (I kiss my Business Class seat each and every time because I abhor Economy Class; it’s pure torture). However this was by far my most enjoyable experience.

It was all thanks to the wonderful service of a staff member by the name of Sean Fourrie (I’m hoping that I have spelt his name correctly; I wasn’t wearing my glasses when I took a look at his badge!) From the time I arrived on the plane until the time I left, he took GREAT care of me. He was kind, caring and most professional throughout the flight.

I had wonderful teenager sitting next to me and she received exactly the same treatment from Sean. The young girl and I chatted a lot. She told me that she’s a frequent Business Class flyer and she’s accustomed to receiving shoddy service. “It’s always clear that they don’t care about me because I’m a kid,” she told me.

Well, Sean did care. The delightful young lady received exactly the same service that I did – which was exemplary.

I skipped the dinner, having eaten in the lounge, but my fellow traveller noshed her food with relish. Breakfast was better than expected and Sean was happy to bring me as many cups of piping hot coffee as I desired.

Angus (sorry, I didn’t get his surname) was the purser on my flight … and he was awesome too.

SAA has its challenges – as we all know. Specific to business class, those include lie-flat seats that aren’t the best in class and a temperamental entertainment system. Also, champagne isn’t served (which truly saddens me greatly; our MCC just isn’t quite as good…!) However, people such as Sean and Angus can make a difference. And they certainly did for me.

Charleen Clarke
My friends call me a glomad (a global nomad lest you don’t get it). That’s a particularly apt word, because I am always trawling all corners of the globe, looking for stories. As a result, I have slept in some seriously strange places – on a bed of ice in the Arctic circle, on the floor in a traditional Japanese hotel, on the sand dunes in the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan … and even on the floor of a Thai cargo ship. Mostly however I tend to sleep on aircraft (if I had a dog, he would bark at me when I eventually come home). I am passionate about trucks, cars, travel, food, wine, people and hugs – so I write about all these things. Except the hugs. Follow me: www.twitter.com/womanonwheelsza